Game Narratives

Games make great paths that give landmarks in which the player is excited to get to the next one and the next one

Simple things like: lights from two sides of the room, ceiling height variety

The following is a list of the 15 aspects of the nature of order and how it applies to my game level:

1. Levels of scale. Large beautiful things, medium details, tiny details
   1. Small : documents and keys
   2. Medium: separate rooms and character
   3. Exploring large level
2. Strong centers
   1. Rooms could loop around to larger main room, possible expansion of connecting halls
3. Boundaries (they create centers)
   1. Trims on walls
   2. THRESHOLDS and conflicting boundaries (found in story with more information of why the kingdom is run the way it is vs personal drive of revenge over lover's death
4. Alternating Repetitions
   1. Switching between intense and calm, seen in calm, relatively empty halls and the rooms centralized around death
5. Positive space
   1. Balance with negative space
   2. Crowded, detailed areas balanced by empty walls and halls
6. Good shape
   1. Visually pleasing shapes
   2. Interesting level layout
   3. Extra example: Good dialogue rhythm
7. Local symmetries
   1. Not overall symmetry
   2. Room symmetry, even with props (like pots)
8. Deep interlock
   1. Emotional connection, comes from lover being killed
9. Contrast
   1. Two opposites provide comedy
   2. Emphasizes relaxed and serious moments
   3. Emphasize room themes: serious vs relaxed tones, seen also in rooms vs halls
10. Graded Variation
    1. Gradual changes are beautiful
    2. Each room has a varying emphasis on death, creates eerie feel that has developed over time
    3. Architecture
    4. Gradual change in story, perception of the kingdom’s governing changes
11. Roughness
    1. Things aren’t perfect, gives human feel
    2. Imperfection creates interest
    3. Textures can look rough, create random arrangements (skeletons)
12. Echoes
    1. Different angles line up
    2. Music and environments and mechanics have a good flow
13. The Void
    1. The most important things are empty inside
    2. The people inside it become important
    3. Queue that something is going to happen
    4. Mausoleum in level
14. Inner Calm
    1. Complexity can be hidden
    2. Give little, simple things multiple purposes
    3. Collect documents for information, for physical collection of goal, and for player satisfaction
15. Not Separateness
    1. Connection between player story, game’s story, and the psychology of the player
    2. Great games connect us and change us!! 
    3. My focus if this was a full blown game would be the plot and environment